The Angel Adventures: The Jeweled By Day Series
by PurplePiplup
Summary: Ever wondered what The Angel Adventures characters were like when they were little? Here's your chance to find out. 20 parts and genre may change. *Diamond Wishes added 9/07/02*
1. 1 Sapphire Rain

**Jeweled By Day #1: Sapphire Rain**  
_The past returns, but to haunt or heal? _ __

A/N: You must excuse me...As it's 2:39 a.m. as I begin my newest series of TAA Special Editions. What's that...? You think I'm what...? You think I'm crazy...? Is that so...? Why thank you!

An unusually forceful wind rustled the leaves outside of 213 Lotus Lane in Rose Town, Nanka. The bright summer sun was no where to be seen in the clouded sky of the early day. It was sure to rain, but the Hikoboshi children didn't care. The eldest of the three bolted as his younger cousins bounded along behind him. One was so small, a large Pidgey may have had to look down on her, while the other was a bit taller, maturing fast, as all Hikoboshi boys did. A purple Pokemon tumbled about in the air above their heads, laughing and smiling wide as the trio ran from one side of the road to the other, dodging flying Insect Pokemon as they fooled around.

One solemn drop of cold water drizzled down from a darkening cloud and splashed the youngest on the head. She stopped running behind her brother and cousin and looked upward, getting splashed right in her face. She grumbled something a three year old was not supposed to say.

"Hey! Stop!" a voice totally unlike that of her future self cried out, "It's starting to rain!"

"Ah, who cares?" her brother cracked, "Ya' ain't made a' sugar! Ya' not gonna melt!"

"Snot! I'm telling mommy on you!" she scolded, scowling evilly and bounding back to the front porch.

As she started running, a rumble of thunder sounded and a zap of lightning went off in the distance. She tripped over her own two feet, falling face-first to the asphalt. She cursed again (Naughty little girl.) and stood up, brushing the gravel from her skirt, and looked to her knee. Being only three, the hardly even microscopic drizzle of blood on her leg caused her to let out one, long, high-pitched wail of a scream.

"I'm bleeding!" she bawled, collapsing back to the ground, "I'm gonna die!"

"Girls...Sisters...Ugh..." her brother muttered and stormed over to her, "Stand up! You're fine! It's not even bleeding anymore!"

She examined herself a bit longer, then latched onto him, "Thank you, big brother!" she squeezed with all her might, being the strongest three-year-old around.

He shivered and pushed her off, "Cut that out! Grow up!" harsh words now, but she would come to realize he was right.

"Don't push me!" she shoved him back, sending him toppling over backwards.

Their cousin started laughing hysterically at them, "You guys are funny!" he managed to laugh out.

The older of his two cousins glared at him, "Yeah, well, you're not," he fumed as his sister ran back for the house; their mother called for dinner.

As he started getting up, he realized he was stuck, "Eww!" his cousin cried, "Muk sludge! Gross!"

"Well, what do ya' want from me?!" he snapped, "Not my fault Rose is so close to the Bogs!"

"Come on, kids! Inside!" his mother called again and his cousin ran for the door.

"Hey! What about me?!" he spazzed, pulling against the glue-like substance on his shoe, "Gastly! Help me!" his purple Pokemon looked at him worriedly, "Oh...I forgot...You don't have arms..."

A few moments later, it started pouring. Gallons upon gallons of water fell from the sky, drenching the already wet boy with full force. His mother and father, who thought he was washing up with his sister and cousin, didn't know he was stuck out there. He recalled his Gastly and glared over at the bathroom window, a frown forming on his face as his cousin and sister, whom he now was chosing to call evil, sat in the window, making faces and waving at him. He finally resorted to pulling off his shoe, then pulling that out of the slop seperately. He hopped around and replaced his shoe before running for the door. As he turned, he tripped and fell flat on his face. His cousin and his sister started laughing, but when he didn't get up again and just laid there on the ground, they gasped and ran from the bathroom.

"Mommy! Mommy! Something's wrong with Morty!" Evangelina bounced around her mother worriedly.

"Uncle Greg! Uncle Greg! Morty's sick or somethin'!" Eusine slid to a stop outside the den.

"What?!" both parents buzzed in unison, running from either the TV or the kitchen, depending on which one you were refering to.

"Morty fell outside and he's not getting up again!" Eevy shrieked, pointing to the door.

Her parents pushed past her, spinning her around, and she and her cousin ran out the front door, staring worriedly down the driveway as Eevy and Morty's parents bolted down it, splashes flying from their feet as they rolled Morty over and carried him back inside. Eusine and Eevy looked on worriedly as Morty slowly shivered, unconscious, on the couch as his parents dried him off. His eyes were slightly open, but there was no life in them; like an antique doll. He was pale white with a hint of peach and his lips were near sky blue. Not only was he soaked, but he'd taken a good sized smack on the forehead from the spill on the driveway. Tammy called the doctor while Greg scolded Eevy and Eusine for leaving him. Guess he didn't think they felt bad enough already...

*^~^**^~^*

Morty was sitting up in bed, watching the Flying and Bug Pokemon soar/scurry past/under the window. A white bandage was wrapped around his forehead and his mother had purposely done a special load of wash; all his favorite stuff. She'd washed his Ghost Pokemon bed set, his Gengar PJs, his Haunter doll and his favorite outfit. She'd even made a special trip to the store and bought him Gastly Band-Aids. His pale blue eyes wandered about the room and then examined the ceiling tiles a bit more thoroughly than he had the last twelve times he'd looked up. He'd been unable to train his Gastly, unable to get out of bed, unable to feed himself (As far as his mother was concerned.) and unable to play for the past two days, and he hated it.

Mortimer Michael Hikoboshi was an independant boy, as all Hikoboshi were. He wanted nothing more than to get out of his wretched bed and do something, but his parents and the doctor forbid it. He had a bump the size of a Dugtrio burrow on his head (As far as his mother was concerned.) and he dared not touch his bandage; his mother would kill him.

As he laid back down to doze off, his bedroom door creaked open, "B-Big brother?"

"Hey," Morty snapped, "Mom said to stay out."

Eevy didn't back away; even as a little girl, she stood up for herself and didn't hesitate to speak her mind when she had to. She wandered in slowly, her crimson-pink jumper moving with her and her white shirt slightly dirty. Her mother would go off the deep-end; dirt on that white shirt! Her sandles scuffed darker lines in the rug where they pulled the fabric in the wrong direction as she shuffled in. She stopped and held something in both hands behind her back.

"I only wanted to give you something," she looked at the floor, a bright shining line falling from her face as she brought the Poke'Ball around to her front, "I did this for you. Gastly, please come out for me," she released her brother's Pokemon.

"What're you doing with him?! Put him-" Morty cut himself short as Gastly rolled about in midair, spinning around his sister.

"Go ahead, Gastly. Show him what we did," she pointed to a Pidgey standing in the window.

A deep blue-black beam shot from Gastly's forehead and the Pigeon Pokemon went dizzy, tipsily tilting around before toppling off the windowsill, "Was that...Was that Confuse Ray?" Morty's jaw hung down slightly.

"Yeah," Eevy nodded with a slight smile, "I just wanted to say I was sorry, so I helped Gastly learn Confuse Ray for you," she looked back at him, slightly crying, "Do you forgive me now?" she sniffled.

Morty's gaping mouth turned to a delighted smile, "Yeah!" he shouted suddenly, "Thanks, baby sis!"

Eevy's head cocked to the side, "What?" not once before had Morty ever referred to her as anything other than nasty names and Evangelina.

"Thank you, baby sister," he stretched and hugged her shoulders.

Eevy grinned and returned the gratitude-filled embrace somewhat slowly. Gastly floated around above them, happily repeating his name in a montra. Their mother opened the door and they both snapped apart, Morty quickly laying flat and Eevy staring at Gastly. Their mother laughed, just barely audibly, and put an arm around each other them.

"Don't worry," she whispered to them, "We won't tell anyone."

She let go, patted them on top of their heads, and walked out. Morty and Eevy glanced at each other, then grinned wide. Gastly cried out behind them, a huge smile engulfing his face. Eevy waved and skipped out the door, not having the slightest clue something could go dreadfully wrong with her at any given moment.

*^~^**^~^*

Morty and Eevy's father lifted Morty up onto the cold metal table and his doctor removed the bandage from his forehead, "Not even a bruise already," he turned to their mother, "It must not have been any where near as serious as you portrayed it to be, Mrs. Hikoboshi."

"Ahehe..." their mother smirked and reddened nervously, "My apologies, doctor. A frantic mother worried about her son...Sorry."

Eevy was sitting calmly in a hard plastic chair on the side of the room, swinging her legs in front of her when the doctor turned to her, "Well, hello there, little miss. How have you been?"

"OK," she replied simply, extending her arm; she knew what was coming.

"Lemon-lime. I know," he dropped a lolly-pop into her hand, starting to stand, "Evangelina," he looked concerned suddenly, startling their parents, "Mind if I look at your arm?"

"Nope," she unwrapped her lolly, tossed the wrapper, held it in her right hand and extended her left arm.

"Is something wrong?" her father asked urgently.

The doctor offered no reply, "Doctor, _is something wrong_?" their mother asked quickly.

The doctor stood, looking overly grim for no apparent reason, and then immediately picked Eevy up, "Hey!" Eevy shrieked as she dropped her lolly, "My candy!"

"What _are_ you doing?!" her father snapped.

"This girl's been stung by a Beedril," the doctor put Eevy over his shoulder, "The poison could be spreading as we speak. She could very well have been dead by now. We need to get her an antidote," he hauled her out the door, kicking and screaming.

"Put me down!" she kicked and pounded his back with her fists, "Let me go! _Morty_! Help me!"

"Eva!" Morty started to stand, but his stunned father shakily put a stop to it, stretching his arm out in front of him, "Evangelina!"

"Morty!" Eevy started crying, a high-pitched shriek of a wail that sent shivers down everyone's spines, "Mommy! Daddy!"

Morty stood, behind his father's arm, staring along the long white hall as the doctor carried Eevy down it. She flailed and wailed and bawled and hit, but it didn't do her any good. When training her brother's Gastly in the backyard, a Beedrill had dive-bombed her. That was when Gastly had learned Confuse Ray; to chase away the oncoming danger. Eevy didn't even think it had gotten her, but it obviously had. She'd been sitting around all day after that, bored because her brother was sick and her cousin was back in Celadon. Being still kept the poison from spreading as fast as it could have. As she squirmed, she could literally feel her energy and ambision draining away, slow but sure. She started getting sleepy and her eyelids started closing. The doctor felt her stop kicking and bounded into the only open room he could get to, carting her with him. He laid her out on a bed, feeling the faintest of pulses and the weakest of heartbeats. She started to turn even paler than Morty had, every bit of color draining from every bit of skin.

"Get me Beedril antidote now!" he pointed to a nurse (Not named Joy.) and looked back to Eevy, "Come on, sweetheart. Wake up," he started pounding on her chest as her heartbeat got fainter and fainter.

Her mother, father and Morty slid to a stop outside, looking in the window only to see Eevy getting whiter and whiter. Her mother collapsed and her father tried desperately to wake her. Morty just stared, right at his sister, his mouth slightly hanging open. Why was his sister so pale? Why wasn't she moving? Could it be...? Could she possibly...? No! Not his sister!

"Evangelina!" he stepped up on the bench beside him and screamed into the glass, "Wake up, Eva! Wake up!" his fist met the glass three or four times before his father caught both his wrists and pulled him away, "Eva! Evangelina! Let me go!" he cried, screaming nearly as shrill as Eevy had, "Eva! Wake up, Eva!" his father pulled him down the hall and into a private waiting room.

"Morty! Stop!" his mother caught his hands and pushed him into a chair, standing over him, "Your sister's sick. Let her...rest."

"I want to see my baby sister!" he cracked, incredibly deep for his age, "Let me see my baby sister!"

"Stop it!" his father thundered, sending him flying back to his seat faster than his monsterous voice could finish echoing, "Sit down and be still, Mortimer!"

"But...What about Eva?" Morty asked worriedly, reaching behind his back and pulling Gastly's Poke'Ball forward to stare at it.

*^~^**^~^*

Eevy was still laying flat on the bed, now with an oxygen mask over her mouth. It nearly covered her entire face, as she was so young. She was still too pale to be immediately recognized, and the antidote was just being administered for a third time when the door slowly opened. The doctor and nurse turned, seeing a shadow in the door.

"Morty," the doctor sounded a bit surprised, "Shouldn't you be in the waiting room with your parents?"

"Please," Morty said in a voice just over a mumble, "I want to see my sister."

The doctor half gasped/half grinned. Was this the Hikoboshi boy, the one everyone said was to be a leader all his life, asking to see the Hikoboshi girl, the one everyone said was to lead the leaders? It was a miracle! Go with it! The doctor stepped away, surprising the nurse by his willingness to step aside. Morty trudged over slowly and looked up at his sister. Her arms were laying at her sides, her entire body a pale whitish-bluish-peach.

"Eva," her brother murmured, "I'm real sorry for staying mad at you. I didn't mean it. I really do love you, baby sis. And I want to be able to finish that game we started with Eusine. We'll beat him, sis, but only if you're helping me. Please, Eva," he started crying, "Wake up. You've just got to be OK."

The nurse cringed and looked away, "Poor boy," she thought, "He doesn't know what's wrong with his baby sister..."

"Morty," the doctor put a hand on his shoulder, "She can't hear you."

"Sh-She can't?" his eyes started flooding and he looked to the floor, "She can't..."

"Yes I can," came the somewhat muffled voice of a little girl, followed by two coughs.

The nurse immediately turned back to them at that. Eevy's eyelids shook slightly and slowly opened, showing chilling shades of blue and green. Her eyes fell to her left, then her whole head tipped toward the doctor and her brother. Morty jumped over and stared her dead in the eyes. The doctor and nurse gaped behind them, staring blankly. She'd woken up, but not for them. For her worried big brother who was upset for being angry with her.

"Why couldn't we have been like that?" the doctor asked the nurse.

"Maybe because you were an snot and you still are," the nurse cracked back.

"Yeah, well, you're still not made of sugar," he snickered as they left the room, "Ow!"

"When I get through with you, you'll need to be your own patient," she fumed.

"Morty?" their mother leaned in the door, "Eva!" she and her father bounded to their side, "My baby."

They both started buzzing around her. But...This was unusual. Eevy didn't seem to care they were even there; she was only looking to Morty.

*^~^**^~^*

Once Eevy's mother and father had successfully been evactuated from the room, Morty stood at the foot of Eevy's bed. He stared at her. Just stood there and...Stared at her. She stared right back for a second before putting on a quizzical look and questioning his problem.

"What?" she asked with her right eyebrow up.

"Nothing," he shrugged, fingering the pure white sheet, "Just...Ya' know...Sorry," the last word was mumbled to the floor as he looked down.

"You're _sorry_?" she questioned in total disbelief, "Really?"

"Yeah," he kicked the leg of a chair to his side, "I didn't mean to snap at you like that, but it was just...You were being such a baby about it. Sorry, Eva."

Eevy's head fell to the side as her brother's eyes remained downcast, "OK. But I'm sorry too."

He gaped a bit and looked up blankly, "Why?" was all he could manage to cough out.

"For pushing you and for leaving you outside in the rain," she bit her bottom lip, "And for being such a baby."

Morty smirked, "But you _are_ a baby. You're my baby sister," he snickered as she glared at him ever so slightly, "And you always will be."

His sister pondered this momentarily, "OK."

*^~^**^~^*

The next morning, their parents awoke to find, again, no Morty where they'd told him to stay. Upon going out into the hall and questioning the nurse that had been with Eevy, she told him he'd again gone down the hall to his sister's room. Both parents jumped down the hall and slowly opened the door, finding, to their surprise and utter astonishment, that Morty was sprawled at Eevy's feet, snoring away. As was she. They woke him slowly, accidentally waking Eevy. The siblings looked at each other with red faces, but just got pats on the heads and an announcement from the doctor that Eevy could go home.

*^~^**^~^*

"Morty! Eva! Eusine is here!" their mother called from the front room.

"Just a minute!" they both called back.

Their father leaned in the door, figuring the delay in going to meet their cousin was because they were fighting. But, when he looked in on them, the only thing fighting were their Duel Monsters decks, which they were sitting on the floor playing with. He tilted an eyebrow, then shrugged it off, figuring it better not to interfere with such an amazing flow of cooperation between the two. At least, if nothing else, the hostility when Eevy beat Morty's brains out at their game would be toned down a degree or two.

Eusine came bouncing in Morty's bedroom door, "Wow! You two actually aren't fighting! Are you still sick or somethin'?"

"Shut up, Eusine. You're not funny," both Eevy and Morty said in unison, then glanced at each other, grinning.

"That was creepy," Eusine shuttered and jumped up on Morty's bed, "Can I play?"

"No," they said together.

"Why not?"

"Because we said so."

"You're twice as mean now as you were when you used to fight all the time."

"Yep."

"You're twice as weird too."

"Thank you."

Eusine puffed, then frowned, and fell backwards onto his cousin's pillow. He pouted for a few minutes before spotting a cousin at either side of the bed. He looked left at Eevy, then right at Morty, then left, right, left, right, left...His eyes kept moving faster and faster to the point at which he was nearly getting dizzy. He whimpered as his cousins smirked at each other, then gave him an evil smile. He started to sit up, but they both jumped him. He screamed as they started furiously tickling him. Eevy went for his weakness. She wet her fingers and jammed them in his ears. He wailed and kicked so hard all three Hikoboshi went rolling off the bed and onto the floor. They landed right on Eevy and Morty's card game, sending the cards flying around the room as Eusine flailed helplessly. One card in particular flew the farthest, fluttering down to a stop on the windowsill. The _Change Of Heart_ card sat there in the window, a Pidgey gliding slowly overhead and a Weedle wobbling by.

*^~^*End*^~^*

Coming Soon: Jeweled By Day #2: Diamond Wishes

__

A/N: So what'd you think? It's weird and pretty stupid toward the end, but ya' know. Me and stupid...We get along really well. So...I'll shut up now and go and continue my weirdness elsewhere. Brahaha!

*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*

You're trying to tell me I own Pokemon? Heh! Yeah right! I never have, nor will I ever, own Pokemon. Heh, I don't own Duel Monsters, The Change Of Heart Card, or anything in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh! King Of Games! either.


	2. 2 Diamond Wishes

**Jeweled By Day #2: Diamond Wishes**  
_The past returns, but to haunt or heal? _

A/N: Welcome, welcome one and all to the second addition to the "Jeweled By Day" series. Aren't you just so thrilled to be reading? Heh...Yeah right...Anyway, go ahead and read if you please. Hope you enjoy ^_~

Dragons; Supposedly the strongest of all Pokemon types. Mystical and powerful, mythical and hidden, yet so very real and glorious. They could stand up to nearly anything. Anything, that is, except ice.

Ice; The one thing Dragons feared. Sheer and deadly, slick and slippery, and the perfect cause for an accident one cold December morning. This one obstacle would change one boy's life forever.

*^~^**^~^*

It was raining...Again. Slow and steady drops of water plummeted from the sky, splashing down in the puddles already collected in the snow outside. Rain on snow; a somewhat rare but actually common occurrence in Blackthorn. But today it wasn't the only the sky shedding tears; it was three children. The eldest had never cried so hard before, sitting in a hard chair with his legs pulled up and his forehead rested on his knees. His two younger siblings were twins; one boy and one girl. Their older brother would be turning four in just a few weeks and Christmas was coming as well.

And then...This. Combine one car, one rainy night, one icy road, and one late midnight express careening down the tracks at full speed. Then you get this. Two parents dead and three orphaned children on December eighteenth. In the hallway stood one young woman (the temporary Blackthorn Gym Leader while her husband was in the Dragon's Den), and her daughter. The Gym Leader stepped over to the oldest and pushed his chin up.

"Don't cry. It'll be OK," she nodded, trying to reassure him as his brother and sister stopped crying to look on.

"Go away," he snapped, jerking his chin away and again dropping his head.

Upon seeing this, his brother and sister again began crying. Ryoko stepped away as she heard the door burst open and saw her soaking husband trip his way in the door. He slipped to a stop and hacked twice.

"What happened?" he rung his hat out, "Mariatu said Ryujin-" he stopped as Ryoko pointed off to the side at the bawling children, "They're not."

"They are. Both of them, Ryo," Ryoko pulled her husband's hat from his clenched fists, "San and Suki are both gone," she started choking, "And those poor children," she turned away and covered her eyes, "Ryo! What do we do?"

The little girl who had been standing quietly in the corner tugged her father's raincoat, "Daddy...What's wrong with Lance?"

"We'll talk about it later, Claire. Go to your room," her father waved her down the hall to their side.

*^~^**^~^*

"Lance?" Ryoko bent slowly to her knees behind San and Suki's oldest son, "You OK?"

"I'm fine," his pale brown eyes never once moved from the cloudy skies outside the window he was seated in front of.

"Are you sure?" he nodded slowly in return, "Do you want something to eat? Something to drink?"

"No thank you," he just sat there, watching the clouds slowly coast by.

"Ryoko," she turned at the sound of her name and Ryo motioned for her to leave Lance alone; it was all he wanted since three days before.

Ryoko stood and stepped back as Victor and Victoria wandered over to their brother and sat down at his sides. They leaned their heads on his shoulders and both made the focus of their eyes the same as his. Claire moved up behind her parents, carting around a stuffed Dratini. She couldn't have a real one yet, so she made the most of things. Never mind the fact one of its large ears was starting to fall off and its eyes were loose to kink left to right and turn upside-down. She pushed out and walked up beside Lance, looking up at the sky, where he was still staring. She didn't quite understand why he liked the sky so much these past few days and was trying to figure it out.

"How come you're looking at the sky again?" she asked finally, swinging the Dratini back and forth in her right hand by its tail.

"Because," Lance puffed, still not moving as his brother and sister glanced back at Claire, then looked right back ahead.

"That's not an answer," Claire contradicted, crossing her arms and thereby constricting her Dratini.

"It is for me," Lance hissed back, putting his legs out straight.

"Claire," Ryoko called, "Come away. Leave them alone."

"How come?" Claire whined, running back to her parents, "And where are their mommy and daddy?"

Ryo picked her up and walked slowly down the hall for a few moments before Claire came running back up it again and jumped for her mother's waist. She cried into her mother's side as the Dratini she'd been carrying lay on the hall floor, the ear finally having come off when she'd dropped it and both eyes pointed to either side. Ryo stood down the hall, rubbing his forehead as Ryoko tried to calm the wailing Claire. They looked off at the Ryujin children, two of which were crying and one who had not moved so much as one inch.

*^~^**^~^*

Lance jumped side to side, kicking a soccer ball up higher and higher with each slam he put it through. He banged it with his knee and sent it sailing upward, only to see it plummet back down and whack his brother right on the head. Vic laughed hysterically as V burst into tears and rubbed his now soar forehead. The youngest son had looked up when Vic had shouted for him to move, and he'd been pelted right between the eyes. Claire sat on the porch, now holding an Egg. A Pokemon Egg. A Dragonite's Egg. An Egg that would eventually hatch into a Dratini. Ryoko leaned out the door at the sound of the bawling Victor and saw the soccer ball sitting beside him on the grass and the large red mark on his face where it'd beaned him. She fought not to laugh as hard as his siblings were and called out.

"Lance! Victor! Victoria!" she waved as they all looked up at her, "Come here please!"

Lance took off for the door and his brother and sister ran along behind. Being only five, they weren't yet as fast as him. Claire was also five, but amazingly fast. Lance was only fast when he wanted to be or had to be, which was very seldom. He bounded up the front steps two at a time and ran in the front door. When Claire saw Vic and V coming, she sprang up and ran for the screen door, pulling it open and holding it as they sped forward. Had she not opened it, it would have been the same situation as a Pidgey smacking a newly washed window.

"Yes, Mrs. Karkota?" Lance stood obediently straight, nearly saluting her.

"Ryo wants you in the den," she motioned off to the side and watched all three fly forward.

Lance tackled the door with his side, then tipsily stepping back and actually turning the handle. He tripped his way down the steps and slid around the stairwell. He panted to a stop beside Ryo and proceeded to snap at his brother and sister being so slow.

Ryo walked away, and Lance immediately followed, "You know, you're a lot like your father."

"I know," Lance didn't even wince at the thought, "My mother told me that a lot. I always took it as a compliment."

"As well you should have," Ryo started walking backwards, bumping into a table behind him, "You're father was a very good man. And he asked me something about the three of you."

"What'd he ask?" Victor asked suddenly just before his sister slapped her hand over his mouth and pulled him back.

"Quiet!" she snapped.

"He asked me, when he first had you, that the next time Ryoko and my Dragonite had a clutch, to give you each an Egg," he crossed his arms and watched the reactions.

Vic's hand fell away from her brother's mouth and both arms dangled limp at her sides. Victor's jaw dropped, no longer having his sister's hand to keep it shut, and he toppled over backwards. Lance was frozen in giddy paralysis. He smiled wide and jumped a good four feet.

"Really?!" he shrieked in an astoundingly soprano tone that would have floored Victor, had he not already been on the ground, "And Claire has an Egg, and that means Gaikoi and Gaiyou had a clutch!"

Ryo nodded slowly with crossed arms, "Stop jumping around, son. You're giving me second thoughts. I don't want a trampoline to carry a Dragonite's Egg around," Lance froze in mid hop and calmed himself slowly, "Thank you. Come on. The Eggs are at the Pokemon Center."

*^~^**^~^*

Claire, though uninvited, tagged slowly along behind her father and the Ryujin children as they headed for the Pokemon Center. Her stuffed Dratini had been fixed sometime before and she now carried it again as she ran to keep up as Lance and his brother and sister made a break for the door. The Egg she was trying to hatch was in her backpack, slung over her shoulders. Her father paused and held the door for her, as the others had run in front of him.

"Hello, Master Karkota," Nurse Joy nodded once, "Come to check on the Eggs?"

"Come to get a few," he watched Joy's eyes count three, but raised four fingers silently.

"All right," she nodded, acknowledging she'd seen, and took a key from under the counter, "Follow me, please."

Lance bolted, flying up beside her. Vic and V bounded along, mimicking their brother as best they could. Claire trotted along behind her father, but veered off to the side and sat down beside the two boys and girl sitting by the wall.

"Hi," she murmured, sitting slowly next to the girl.

"Hi," the brown-haired boy repeated, staring at his own Egg.

"Hi," the other two nodded, both staring at their own Eggs.

Claire pulled hers out and sat it on the floor in front of her, staring directly at it to mimic her friends, "What's Lance doing?" the blue-haired boy asked.

"Getting an Egg," Claire answered simply.

"What about Vic and V?" the blue-haired girl asked.

"Getting an Egg," Claire answered again.

"Chansey! Chansey-chansey!" a large pink Pokemon strolled up behind them and tapped the brown-haired boy on the shoulder, dropping two Poke'Balls in his hands.

"Oh. Thank you, Chansey," he waved to the Pokemon as she walked away.

"Whatcha got?" Claire asked, glancing at him.

"A Ditto. And an Elekid," he shrugged.

"A Ditto?" the other boy snickered, "A Ditto! You expect to be a Master with a _Ditto_?!"

"Hey! Nothing's wrong with my Ditto!" he snapped, "I intend on going back to Pummello with more than just a Dratini Egg!"

"Yeah, well, we're going back to Cutter with more than just Eggs too!" Rei snapped, "Tell 'em, Ray!"

"_We've_ got our own Horsea!" Ray spat out his tongue, "And they _both_ have Dragon Scales! So _there_!"

"Leave Drake alone, guys," Claire glared at them, "You're upsetting the Eggs."

"Upsetting...The Eggs?" Drake and Rei and Ray went blank in the faces.

"Yeah. My daddy says that the things an Egg is exposed to can affect the baby," she grinned in satisfaction with herself, "You're gonna make yours turn out to be grumpy and lazy. _Like you_."

"_Hey_!"

*^~^**^~^*

"Here you are," Nurse Joy opened a door at the end of a hallway, "There's Gaikoi and Gaiyou's clutch," she pointed across the room.

Ryo pushed his way in first, "I'll let you decide which Egg you'll take, but if I see you mistreating it, I may have to take it back," he pointed to Vic, "Ladies first."

"Hah!" Vic grinned and hopped forward.

She examined the nest of Eggs carefully, seemingly studying each and every one. Her eyes flowed left, but returned to the center. Her eyes flowed right, but returned to the center. That mid-sized one in the center seemed to keep her attention...

"That one!" she pointed as much as she could, standing on her toes a bit.

"Chansey!" Nurse Joy called, "Could you please take Victoria and her Egg to the registration room?"

"Chan-sey!" Chansey agreed and took Vic's free hand as the girl held her Egg in the other.

As Chansey led their sister away, Victor and Lance stared at the table, "Sorry, Lance. Youngest first," Ryo shrugged.

"Yay! Me first!" V flew up to the table.

He did the same as his sister; scanned the whole clutch slow but sure. There was one on the left that he kept looking at, but it was smaller than the one of the right. Bigger usually meant stronger...But that one was just...

"There!" he cried, jumping and pointing.

"All right. Come on then to the registration room," Nurse Joy carried the Egg, allowing V to calm slightly, "Bring him down too when you're ready," she nodded to Ryo and headed out.

"Now?" Lance questioned.

"Now," Ryo nodded.

Which more restraint than Ryo expected, Lance took a slow step forward. He too looked the clutch over, leaning closer where he saw fit to inspect. Then, far in the back, between two much larger Eggs, was the runt Egg. Small and fragile, it was huddled in the shadowed back corner, nearly invisible beneath the shreds of grass and straw around it. He felt sorry for that Egg...So small and seemingly helpless. That was what he'd felt like...The day he'd lost his parts. So what if bigger usually meant stronger?

"The little one," he murmured, pointing over five or six much bigger Eggs, "The one in the back."

"Where?" Ryo looked closer, having not seen it himself, "That one? The little bitty one? But...It's the runt."

"I know," he persisted, "I want _that one_."

Ryo stared for a moment, amazed at what he'd heard, "All right..." he shrugged and picked it up carefully; it nearly fit in the palm of one hand.

Lance slowly took it and grinned. Heading for the door, he felt very pleased with himself. So what if his Dratini would be tiny? It'd be his. And he'd love it. And it'd love him. Good enough! Power _wasn't_ everything, no matter what some of the goofy trainers out there thought.

"Lance," he paused and looked back on Ryo, who motioned for him to return to his side, "You know...That Egg is very small...Wouldn't you rather have one of the bigger ones?"

"No. I like this one just fine, thank you," he nodded quickly.

Ryo bit his bottom lip, ready to smack himself in the forehead, "That Dratini's going to be awfully little...And it won't be very strong," he scratched at the back of his head, debating with himself, "Ryoko and I...We were talking too...And your mother and father...They..." he choked, "Lance, please take a different Egg."

"No," his eyebrows kinked together in a scowl, "_I want this one_," he stated flatly.

"I told Ryoko I wouldn't..." Ryo tried to bite his tongue, "It's too much for a boy his age..." he started gritting his teeth, "But San...He wanted it..." he balled his fists, "Lance...If you won't take a different one...Take another."

"What?" Lance's head fell off to the side, "But you just said not to take a different one."

"No! That's not what I meant!" Ryo actually _did_ smack is own forehead, "Take a second Egg!"

"A second?!" Lance's jaw fell, "What?!"

"Your father...Had very high hopes for you. And that little thing isn't going to take you anywhere. It's-It's too small! I don't know why you want it, but any Dragonite evolved from that Egg's Dratini will end up half the size of any other. I told Ryoko I wouldn't give you another. She thinks you're too young. But your parents wanted this. And, honestly, I'll do what they wanted before I follow instinct. San and Suki had more than instinct," he looked downward, murmuring, "They had Raikou."

"They had _what_? I mean, excuse me, Ryo? I didn't hear you."

"N-Nothing," he looked up quickly, "Please. Pick a second."

Lance immediately grinned evilly, pointing to the largest Egg, "The big one!" he smirked, then thinking, "And there's nothing Vic or V or Drake or Rei or Ray or Claire can do about it! Heheheh..."

*^~^**^~^*

Victor and Victoria had already been registered with their Eggs and were now sitting beside Drake and Rei and Ray. All five stared intently at their Eggs as Claire stood to get a drink at the fountain. She carried her backpack with her and sat it down beside her stuffed Dratini to the side of the fountain. She finished drinking and reached for the bag, then suddenly screaming.

"_Daddy_!" she shrieked.

Drake, Victor, Victoria, Rei and Ray all sprang to their feet and ran to her as Lance and Ryo came bounding in from down the hall. Claire had fallen over backwards, staring forward. In front of her was her stuffed Dratini, and beside it was _another_ Dratini. Everyone looked frantically side to side. Both were in the same position and both were the same size, but one was...Blinking.

"It...I...I just got a drink from the fountain," Claire shivered, "And when I looked back at my bag..."

"Your Egg hatched," Ryo reached out and pointed to the one that blinked.

"Baaw?" it cocked its head and hopped forward a few feet, leaning into Claire's face, "Baaawa?"

"Hehe..." Claire twitched, "H-H-Hi?"

"Baw!" the Dratini cried, bouncing around her suddenly, "Ba-ba-bawa!"

"Heh...I like you! I'll call you Draga!" Claire clapped as her Dratini jumped and curled up on her head.

"Oooh..." Rei grinned, staring at her Egg, "Hatchhatchhatchhatchhatch!" she cried.

Drake rolled his eyes and looked at Lance, "What's _that_?" he pointed to the smaller of the two Eggs he was carrying, "An over-sized pebble?"

"No!" Lance snapped, "It's one of _my_ _two_ Eggs," he boasted proudly.

"_Two_ Eggs?!" everyone shouted.

*^~^**^~^*

Though Lance was happy with his runt Egg, he was constantly teased and nagged on about it. It was always for the same reason too; it was _so_ small. Still, he kept it with him night and day, just as he did the other one. Soon, he was shown Drake's Dratini, called Drago. Then Rei and Ray's, sometimes called Dergo and Derga (Pronounced Darego and Darega). Then Victor's, Dargo. Then Vic's, Durga. And still, his remained unhatched. He was sitting beneath a tree, one Egg on either of his sides, and not paying attention to anything but the stream in front of him. He didn't see the three boys wandering up behind him.

"Hey, Ryujin," he turned quickly at his name, glaring at the boy with black hair.

Basically, this kid was the school bully, coming in from Viridian every day with his two stooges in step, "What do you want, Sakaki?" Lance hissed back, no matter how much older Giovanni may have been.

His eyes traveled to Giovanni's side, the teal-haired boy tossing something handheld up and down, "Let's play catch, shall we?" Daemeon Luminate's father grinned.

"Give that back!" Lance roared, shooting to his feet as Daemeon tossed his runt Egg to the other boy behind Giovanni.

"Why? It's just a stupid Egg," steel-blue eyes and sand-brown hair; Taylor Andiron, "Can't tell me you actually want it."

"Give it back!" Lance spat lowly, "I mean it!"

"Ooh...I'm so afraid," Giovanni shrugged and took the Egg from Taylor, ready to heave it into the stream.

"Don't do it!" came a series of yells from their side.

"Huh?" all four looked off to the left.

Victor and Drake jumped Daemeon, sending him flying to the ground as two more boys came running from behind. Both jumped Taylor as Claire and Vic and Rei and Ray all ran for Giovanni. The Egg went flying, sailing toward the water. Lance gasped and ran for the water, but Giovanni struggled out from under his captors and slammed him from behind. Two older boys, around the same age as Giovanni, ran from the school, followed by the teacher.

"Charles. Eric. Go and break them up," the teacher motioned.

Chuck and Surge nodded, "Yes, Mr. Windigo," they ran forward and pried Claire and the others off Daemeon and Taylor.

They turned to Lance and Giovanni, but couldn't get close enough. With the swinging fists and the kicking feet, there was no way to get near them to break them apart. The Egg landed right on the bank of the river, rolling toward the edge. Lance took one hefty swing and punched Giovanni right in the nose. The future leader of Team Rocket stood up and held his face, blood draining from his nose as Lance scrambled to his feet. The Egg rolled and rolled and rolled and Lance dove. He missed by but an inch.

"No! My Egg!" he cried, "Not my Egg!"

The two boys who had been on Taylor ran forward, "Falkner! Kestrel! Get back here!" Pryce snapped as they both ran at Giovanni.

Lance stomped his right foot as Chuck and Surge pulled the two future Flying-type Gym Leaders back. Behind him, the other Egg started twitching, then shaking, then fell over. He turned and saw it crack, then snap, then burst. A Dratini slightly larger than Claire's hopped over to the water and looked side to side. He then looked back at Lance and cried out.

"Uh...Um..." Lance stammered.

"Use the Dratini, Lance!" Claire called, "Have it get the Egg back!"

"Uh...Dratini. Go and get that Egg! Hurry up!" Lance pointed down the stream.

"Baw!" it agreed and sprang into the water.

Slinking along like a snake, the Dratini sped along the water. Everyone, including Pryce, ran after Lance as he took off down the stream, following his new Pokemon. The Egg tumbled for a group of rocks and the Dratini sped up. Wrapping around the Egg, he tried desperately to swim for the shore, but the current had gotten the best of him and time was running short.

"Pidgey!" Falkner cried.

"Zubat!" Kestrel shouted.

"Help that Dratini!" they both called.

Zubat flapped toward them and tried his best to pulled them up, but he didn't really have a way to hold on. Pidgey flew slowly down and caught Dratini, pulling both it and the Egg upward. Zubat made himself useful by carrying the Egg for the exhausted Dratini. Lance took his Pokemon in one hand and the Egg in the other and held them both tightly.

"Thank you so much, Dratini," he murmured, then looked up, "Thank you, Kestrel. Thank you, Falkner."

"Uh huh," they both nodded, "Good job, guys," they looked to their Pokemon.

"As for you three," Pryce shoved Taylor, Daemeon and Giovanni forward, "Get to Mr. Kratos's office. I have the strangest feeling he'll want to see you."

*^~^**^~^*

Lance sat on the couch later that day, examining every inch of his Dratini and his runt Egg, "You both look OK," he patted his Dratini's head and held the Egg up, "You were very good today, Dratini."

"Baw!" it cried, hopping to his side and rubbing his ear on his master's shoulder.

"Thanks, I think," Lance scratched his Pokemon's ear and stared at the Egg, sighing, "Why won't it hatch? I had that one with me longer than I had you," he looked at his Dratini who gave a shrug, "You don't know either, huh? I didn't think you would. Nobody does."

Ryoko stood silently in the hallway behind Lance's seat, "Why won't it hatch, Ryo?" she turned around.

"I honestly don't know. Nurse Joy's looked at it and finds it to be perfect," Ryo's shoulders fell, "We don't understand it anymore than he does. It just seems to be taking forever."

*^~^**^~^*

Lance's Dratini sqiggled along behind him, popping side to side as he followed his young master along through the slight woods leading behind the Blackthorn Gym. He finally came to the end and wound up beside the lake seperating the Dragon's Den from the Blackthorn shore. Adjusting his runt Egg in his backpack, he headed towards a woman in a boat a few yards away. Mariatu, young trainee to Ryo, was sitting in her boat, waiting for someone to ask to be taken across the lake. Today was her day off from training and she was now pondering whether to quit for the day. She laid there chewing a piece of grass and staring up at the clouds, her hat pulled down slightly. A sudden shadow over-took her view of the sky.

She bumped her hat up, "Hello, Lance," she grinned at him, "What're you doing way out here?"

"Escaping Claire and Liza," he shrugged, "And trying to hatch my Egg."

"Poor little thing still hasn't hatched, huh?" she frowned and adjusted her hat again.

"Not yet. But it will soon. I just know it," he smiled hopefully, "Can you take me across the water?"

"As long as you don't go in the Den," she nodded and helped him into the boat, "Your Dratini sure is a cutie. Is he strong?" she started paddling.

"He sure is," Lance let his Dratini curl up around his backpack, "He already knows Twister."

"Good for you two," she slowed by the shore, "There you go, kiddo. Be careful and remember what I said about the Den."

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded and waited for his Dratini to hop out before walking along.

He heard Mariatu's paddles swishing along the water as she headed back to the other side of the lake and he wandered along the slightly dense woods. His Dratini hopped to his shoulder, looking side to side and examining the surroundings with his large green-blue eyes. Lance kicked a rock along and cradled his Egg in his right arm, having removed it from his bag for a bit. He heard a quick rustle of bushes to his side and watched a few Sentret and Rattata scurry past his feet, running out of the bush as if something had startled them. His Dratini leaned off to that side and sniffed the air, then cocking his head.

"Do you smell something?" Lance asked quietly.

"Ba," Dratini whispered and nodded slowly.

Lance quickly replaced his Egg in his bag before standing erect and stepping slowly closer. He reached carefully out toward the bush and brushed the branches beside. Peeking in a bit, his eyes met deep brick-red pupils. He froze solid and shivered as an icy wind whirled by, rocks beside him crumbled, and thunder rumbled in the distance. He shot back as a yellow streak whipped out of the bushes. He shrieked a bit and spun around, seeing a bright yellow bolt of lightning flying through the forest. He couldn't control himself and ran after it, following the yellow Pokemon with the glowing red eyes and the jagged black tail. His Dratini clung to his shoulders, holding on for dear life. He tripped up a bit, but suddenly found himself out of the forest and to the mouth of a cave. He peered in the entrance to the Dragon's Den, knowing he'd told Mariatu he wouldn't go in. Still...He felt such an urge to follow that thing that he couldn't stop. He stepped in, looking about, and saw a slight yellow glow illuminate for a mere second from the ladder leading downwards. He got down on his knees and peeked down into the blackness of the ladder's tunnel. His Dratini looked down as well, tilting his head.

"Should we follow it?" he asked his Pokemon, who nodded, "OK then. Come on," he waited for his Pokemon to sit on his shoulder before hopping onto the ladder.

He slowly descended into the lower level of the Dragon's Den, watching his backpack to ensure the safety of his Egg and keeping a close eye on his Dratini. He finally hit the bottom rung and hopped off, searching slightly for any sign of the yellow thunderbolt he'd seen. He watched the flames burning in the lanterns to the sides of the ladder before looking out across the water at the Dragon Shrine. His Dratini looked left and Lance looked right, then Lance looked left and his Dratini looked right. They saw nothing at the moment, so he turned to the right and started walking. Walking right would have proved nothing but that he could find walls real well in the dark. He rounded a turn of the shore and looked down the long walk, seeing an opening in the wall glowing yellow. He made a break for it and found himself in a narrow passageway with Magikarp-shaped lanterns hanging from the ceiling. He continued walking and spotted a corner, the yellow glow bursting from around it. He kept going, his heart pounding, as it was at this moment that he realized he was claustrophobic. His Dratini looked about worriedly, whimpering and hugging his shoulders tighter. They finally reached the end of the hallway and stopped short. They looked about at the stalactites and stalagmites that grew on the ceilings and floor and the lamps that burned behind them, lighting them up every color of the rainbow. There was a circular pond in the middle of this round cavern and in the center of this was a small island with an almost tangled forest of the tree-like calcium pillars and a mess of the water-made calcium icicles. The slight drip of water was making him thirsty and there was no sign of that yellow glow...

"Let's rest a while," Lance suggested, sitting down and placing his Dratini to his side, "Want a snack?"

"Bawww!" his Dratini must have been about as piggish as his trainer was.

Lance poured a bit of sunflower seeds and peanuts onto a small paper plate and allowed his Dratini to feast as he dug for the water bottle he had in his bag. He put his Egg to his side and started guzzling water. His Dratini hiccuped and burped, excusing himself with a "Ba-baw" of an apology at his trainer's scowl. He curled up and rested his chin on his tail, looking out as the crystal clear water in front of them. Lance sat his water down and picked his runt Egg up, staring at it.

"How come you won't hatch?" he asked it out loud, "I've had you for almost a month. Is something wrong with you?" he crossed his legs and sat it in his lap, "Maybe Ryoko was right. Maybe two Eggs _are_ too much for me," he looked it over a bit more, "I felt so sorry for you when you were all buried in the back of the nest. I still feel sorry for you now for not hatching. I just wish people would stop feeling sorry for me," he closed his eyes and sighed, "You're so little...And I felt so little...The day mom and dad died. But I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me now!" he looked up, eyes shooting open as he shouted, startling his Dratini, "I'll show them! I'll show everyone! I don't need sympathy!" he glared up at the ceiling, "I'll do everything I have to on my own! Do you hear me, dad?! I'll make you proud of me! I'll meet your highest hopes! And I'll do it alone!"

"I think you're lying."

He immediately silenced himself and looked around frantically. Nothing. No one. Not a soul to be seen. He looked at his Egg, sitting in his lap, and his Dratini, who was also searching for the source of that voice.

"Who-Who said that?" he asked quickly, standing and telling his Dratini to protect the Egg and wrap around it.

"I did," he kept looking, but didn't see anything.

"I...I don't see you," he stopped looking around and just plain looked puzzled.

The slight crackling of electricity caused him to look forward. A sphere of thunder sparked between the tips of the calcium deposits on the island in the water. It moved forward toward him and he backed up, as did his Dratini as he pulled the Egg with him. The lightning paused and dropped to the ground in front of him, growing and morphing into a tiger-like creature with long fangs, a kinked tail, and beat red eyes. Sparks flowed over him and slowly dissipated into his black and yellow fur.

"Who...What are you? Where did you come from and how did you do that?" Lance stared blankly, "And aren't you the thing I was following?"

The tiger laughed lightly, "Many questions from a boy your age," he started pacing menacingly around the boy in front of him, "I am Raikou. The Beast of Lightning. I come from lands to the west. I lead you here."

"Uh...OK," he kept turning around and around, following _Raikou_'s every movement.

"There is no need to be alarmed, young Ryujin," he grinned slightly as Lance's jaw smacked the floor, "I am here to merely guide you, not to harm you."

"How did you...Know my name?"

"I know more than you'd think," Raikou stopped pacing and sat in front of the boy, "Like that your parents passed away two years ago on December eighteenth at 12:10 in the morning when their car hit ice and water when coming from a Christmas party and they hit the late midnight express heading into town."

"Don't...Talk about that..." he murmured slightly as his Dratini kept his eyes narrow as he glared at Raikou.

"But I'm afraid I have to. I knew your parents, young Lance," Lance just stared at him, "Your mother and father were San and Suki, second in line for the Blackthorn Gym if something was to happen to Ryo and Ryoko. Your father was good friends from childhood with Ryo. And the Karkotas know me as well," he sat slowly down and brought his tail around, forming a ball of electricity at the tip and bouncing it up and down, "You see, I come from an ancient city to the east, where I was resurrected by the Rainbow Winged Phoenix Ho-oh as his messenger and guardian. That was many a decades ago. Each century, I seek out the reincarnated souls of the most powerful Master and Mistress. This time, I believe the soul of our great Dragon of Legends has entered _you_."

"Hold up, cat boy!" Lance jumped back, "What makes you think your Dragon's spirit is inside me?! And how am I supposed to know I can trust you anyway?! How do I know you're not going to eat me or something?!"

Raikou sweatdropped a bit, "Eat you? My dear boy, I have no reason to eat a _human_. Unless, of course, they tried to harm or capture me. But that is beside the point. I believe the Dragon's soul lives in you because of your strong will and your compassionate nature. You are strong, yet gentle and fearless, yet caring. You are the perfect mirror for the Dragon of Legends. As for how you know to trust me...You don't. You merely must have as much faith in me as you do in that tiny Egg and as you do in the fact that you can survive and succeed alone."

Lance's Dratini was now calmly looking on from the side, holding the Egg steady, "Baaa..."

Lance looked from Dratini to Raikou, "If Dratini's not afraid...I suppose I shouldn't be either."

Raikou smiled, "Good boy," he nodded, "You are showing the true Master in you already. That Egg," he looked at it, "I sense mysterious energies in it."

"Is something wrong with it?" Lance questioned quickly, "It's all right, isn't it?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. It feels...Odd," he tilted his head, "I believe you have what we Legendary and Guardian Pokemon call an infusion."

"A wha?"

"An infusion is when some of a Legend or Guardian's power is infused into a Pokemon or a Poke'Egg. I sense the Dragon of Light in that Egg," his eyes narrowed, but returned to normal after a moment of thought, "In fact, I'm sure of it. If you can handle that Egg, you truly are the Master of whom I seek."

Lance looked at his runt Egg, "But...It won't hatch."

"Infusion Eggs always take longer to hatch. The infant must be properly bonded to the power before it can emerge. I'd say," he looked closer, nudging it with his nose, "Within the next two days."

"Really? Great!" Lance grinned wide and picked up his Egg and his Pokemon, "I finally get to have two Dratini!"

"Don't spring into orbit just yet," Raikou silenced him, "I see something in the very near future," he stared at Lance's forehead, "Yes...You have siblings."

"A brother and a sister. They're twins."

"I know. I see many Dragons in all your futures," he backed away, "I am no longer in doubt of your identity," he turned to face the water, "Remember what I said. We will meet again soon in coming days, but for now I must leave you with but a few words," he turned to face him, "Never forget what your parents taught you. Nor should you forget what you teach yourself. You are destined for greatness. Greatness far past what your father knew or even hoped you would someday achieve," his formed started lighting up a golden-yellow, "Ryoko and another young woman are calling for you on the surface. Go now and we shall meet again," he was overcome with electric force and disappeared in a blur of yellow.

*^~^**^~^*

Ryoko was calling for him on the surface when he reached the top, "Lance! What were you doing in the Dragon's Den?! Are you all right?!" she rushed over and checked every inch of his persona like his mother would have.

"I'm fine! You'll never guess what I just saw! It was a big yellow tiger Pokemon! He had a purple mane and a black spiky tail and big ol' fangs and red eye-"

"Don't speak such nonsense," Ryoko pushed him toward Mariatu's boat, "There's no such Pokemon. Not anymore..." she looked back and nodded at Raikou as he strolled quickly past.

*^~^**^~^*

Two days had passed since Lance's encounter with the Pokemon that called himself the Legendary Wandering Messenger Beast Raikou. He read dozens of books on the Rainbow Winged Phoenix and on the Wandering Beasts and every bit of text he laid his eyes on confirmed what the saber-toothed cat had said. Everything except the part about the Dragon. It was strange...The more he read, the more he believed, even though there was no mention of any Dragons.

His Dratini was asleep in the corner, the Egg in its coils. The Dratini stirred and looked around as he saw a black fog billowing about the room. Lance slapped his book shut and looked frantically about as well. The Egg started twitching and the Dratini jumped away. It started vibrating and slowly began glowing with an intense white light. The room darkened and the air stilled as the Egg stood erect and started cracking. It chipped and broke and fell away and the Pokemon that emerged was also lit with white. The glowing ceased and a tiny little Dratini looked about the room as the blackness faded. It looked at Lance with liquid blue eyes and cocked his head.

"Bawwa," it nodded quickly and gleamed white momentarily.

"Um...Hi?" Lance swallowed just before the Dratini hopped up and launched at him, slamming him down with little effort, "Wow! You're one little power-pack there, buddy!" he patted its head, "Um...What will I call you?" he looked at Dratini and Dratini looked at him, "Ooh! I know!" he grabbed a book off the floor from beside him, "I'll name you after the dragon constellation!" he held the book open and pointed, "Since you're so small, you need an intimidating nickname to match that hefty punch you're packing. I'll call you Draco!"

*^~^**^~^*

Draco was so incredibly small that even the other Dratini laughed at him. He was puny, per se. He was about half the size of Liza's newly hatched Charla Charmander and even she teased him. The humans got on Lance and the Pokemon on Draco. But there was something about Draco that none of them realized...Something our friend Giovanni was soon to come to realize...

Lance was by the stream, watching his newly evolved Dragonair and his Draco Dratini together when Giovanni's goons grabbed his shoulders and dragged him back. Draco and his brother looked up quickly, staring at their master's captors. They both slithered into the long grass, slinking along like snakes. Taylor and Daemeon pushed Lance toward Giovanni, who crossed his arms.

"You got me suspended," he puffed, scowling at Lance.

"So what?" Lance spat, "Not like you do anything in school anyway," he stood straight, "What do you want anyway?"

"I want to know what this yellow tiger thing you saw was," he narrowed his eyes, "Some of the other kids are saying it was Raikou; the Beast of Lightning."

"So what if it was?" he hissed.

"I want it. And you're going to get it for me," he grinned evilly, "Or I'll squash that weenie "Draco" of yours like the wiggly little inch worm he is."

"You leave my Pokemon alone! I'll never tell you a thing about Raikou!" he stomped forward, but was pulled away by Taylor.

Draco looked on quietly, then squiggling forward toward his master's side, his brother screeching for him to stay. He wound his way up Lance's leg and to his shoulders, hissing at Giovanni. He stepped back.

"Well, here's the little bugger now," he smirked as Daemeon grabbed Draco's neck and yanked him away.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Lance shouted, pulling away from Taylor, "No! Don't hurt him!"

"I won't hurt him," Daemeon smirked, "I'll kill him."

"No!" Lance shoved and pulled and hit and pushed.

Daemeon started squeezing and Draco started to call out in pain. Dragonair jumped up from the grass and bit down on his arm, causing him to toss Draco away. Daemeon tossed Dragonair into the water, having grabbed him out of an awkward angle, and knocked him cold as Giovanni started to finish what his henchman had started. Lance screamed as Draco started going pale in Giovanni's grasp. Draco screeched suddenly, his form beaming an insane white. Giovanni froze, his grip loosening. Draco just barely doubled in size, a mini Dragonair dangling from Sakaki's hand. His eyes went wide and Lance kicked Taylor and Daemeon away. Draco looked at Giovanni, eyes burning white and swung his tail up, crashing him away. He back-flipped back and landed securely to his master's side. His brother came wobbling from the stream and stood beside him.

"What in the world?!" Taylor scrambled away.

"How'd it do that?!" Daemeon flailed backwards.

"I don't care!" Giovanni snorted, "Go, Hercules!" he tossed a Poke'Ball forward.

The Pokemon that broke from the Ball was large and rocky, made of pure stone. He crashed all four fists together and cried out loudly as Lance and both his Dragonair moved away. The Graveler pounded and stomped the ground, prepared to crush anyone or anything that opposed him in the slightest of fashions.

"Go, Hercules!" Giovanni ordered, "Attack the big Dragonair with RollOut!"

"Dragonair! Use Twister attack!" Lance called.

Dragonair shot forward, an immense whirlwind spiraling along behind him. He careened toward "Hercules" at full-speed as the Rock Pokemon rolled along with his arms and legs pulled in. Dragonair suddenly spread his ears out, changing them into long silky wings. He arced up, allowing the Twister to smash into Hercules and halt his rolling. The Graveler stopped and stood straight, snorting.

"Use Earthquake, Hercules!"

"Look out, Dragonair!"

Dragonair was inexperienced at flying with his immense wings, which meant he couldn't stay up long. He landed just as the Earthquake rolled forward. It slammed him into the air, sending him sailing away with a grunt and groan.

"AH! Dragonair, return!" Lance recalled him and looked at Draco, "Give it a shot, buddy."

"Berrra!" Draco bounced forward.

Giovanni laughed hysterically, as did Hercules, "You _must_ be kidding me! Even their names clash!"

"I don't care! Go, Draco! Use Extremespeed!"

"Go, Hercules! Use Fissure!"

Draco took his shot and bashed into Hercules, but the Graveler merely shook off and jumped, hitting the ground as Draco landed. Lance knew Fissure was an immensely powerful attack and that Draco had no way to avoid it. The rumble of the Fissure tore forward and exploded around Draco. Giovanni laughed evilly, but the dirt cleared to reveal Draco standing calmly just where he had been.

"What?!" Giovanni sprang into the air, "Fissure will only be ineffective to Pokemon of a higher level! It's impossible!"

"Obviously not," Lance stared, then shaking himself straight and pointing forward, "Draco! Hyper Beam, now!"

*^~^**^~^*

"Ooh...What happened?" Taylor sat up holding the side of his head.

Daemeon shot up spiral-eyed beside him, "Ow...I dunno. But whatever it was, it hurts."

"Where's Sakaki?" they both asked at the same time, then looking about.

"Ohhhh..." came a moan from behind.

They both turned around and looked up. There was Giovanni, dangling over the branch of a tree, groaning and bruised to the degree that only a Hyper Beam shooting you to the forest north Mahogany could do.

*^~^**^~^*

Lance stood there, gaping as the three boys disappeared into the distance and Draco bobbed side to side in front of him. Raikou's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he sat in a bush behind them. That power...It was immense! But that Pokemon...It was nearly microscopic! How...How did it do that?! That was exactly the question Lance asked the Pokemon himself.

"How did you just do that?" he murmured in a daze.

"Baa," Draco answered, turning to him and smiling.

"Um...Yeah."

*^~^**^~^*

As the days passed, so did the weeks...And so did the months...And the years. Draco and his brother got stronger and became more attached to their master. Lance got older, more mature, and spent more time with Raikou. Claire got haughtier, snobbish, and spent most of her time fawning over Lance. Their early teenage years brought more of an attraction of hers to him, which he ignored. On Lance's thirteenth birthday, Claire's friend Liza showed up on the doorstep.

"Hiya, Lance!" she beamed, stepping in and shoving a box into his arms, "Happy birthday!"

"Uh...Thanks," he wore a quizzical look as Claire peeked around the stairwell to watch him open the box, "Oh, wow!"

In the box lay a small bundle of an orange and yellow Pokemon. A small flame burned at the tip of his tail and he looked up at Lance, eyes sparkling. Liza smiled wide.

"Isn't he a pretty one? He's my little Charla's newest brother," she beamed with pride, "I picked him out just for you. Do you like him?"

"Do I ever!" he pulled the Charmander out and held it up, "Wow! He's great!" he brought the Charmander down and leaned out, kissing Liza's cheek, "Thank you, Liza! This is my best present yet!"

Liza stepped back, flushed a deep red, "Oh. Thank you."

Claire spun to press her back against the stairwell wall. He face burned red, she bared her teeth, her eyes narrowed. He'd just kissed her! For a _Charmander_! That wasn't allowed! Lance was hers! He'd been hers from the very start! She balled her fists and stormed down the stairs. She had to give Lance something better. She grabbed a batch of Ultra Balls, her Dragonair, and her backpack. She marched out the front door and flew her Dragon to the entrance to the Dragon's Den.

*^~^**^~^*

Claire stomped back in the door, covered in mud and slightly soaking. She washed up, changed, wrapped her present and thundered up to Lance, who was gazing at his new Charmander.

"Um...Lance?" she tapped his shoulder, holding her present behind her back.

"Hi, Claire," was his only response while still staring at his Pokemon.

"Um...Happy birthday?" she partially questioned.

"Thanks."

She frowned and pulled the present around, "Uh...I-I-I got you something."

He turned slightly at that and took it from her, unwrapping what appeared to be an Ultra Ball, "A Pokemon?" he raised the Ball and released a darker-than-usual Dratini, "Ooh..."

"It's a girl, but it's the only one I saw. Do you like her?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah! She's real nice, Claire. Thank you," he nodded and smiled at her, patting his new Dratini's head, "But you didn't have to go through all that trouble for me."

"Well, Liza gave you that Charmander and I wanted to give you something nice too," her face tinged red.

"Oh," he looked at the Dratini, "Well, still, you didn't have to, but thank you anyway" he pecked her cheek, picked up his Pokemon, and headed off to brag at his brother and sister.

Claire turned a bright red until giggling from behind caught her attention like a magnet, "Claire and Lance, sittin' in a tree."

"Don't even start, Drake," she puffed, turning around.

"But I'm not finished. Claire and Lance, sittin' in a tree! K-I-," he dodged a punch, "S-S-," he jumped away from a kick, "I-N-G!" he finished before she walloped him over the head with her backpack.

*^~^**^~^*

It wasn't long after this that Lance again met with Raikou. He was just sitting on the porch when storm clouds swirled into a black spiral and lightning irrupted from the center, crashing to the ground and forming the Beast he'd come to know so well. He patted his Dratini's head and stood up, wandering over to Raikou.

"Hi," he acknowledged simply, "What's up?"

"Nothing of any great importance. I just came to congratulate you on turning another year older," he shrugged, "And to tell you something."

"Well, thanks. And tell me what?" he looked about slightly as it started raining and his Charmander dashed under the porch.

"To the west, young Ryujin," he turned off to the western side and looked as if to be gazing through space, "To the west is a strange continent called Gertan Rin. It consists of two halves; Hokubu and Nanka."

"I know about Gertan Rin. Rei and Ray live in Hokubu in Cutter Town," Lance crossed his arms.

"Yes, well, also on this great isle is the city of Rainbow Metropolis. It's not only the capital of Gertan Rin, but is also the visitor's city for the Rainbow League. This League governs all other Leagues, both new and old, and consists of twelve Badges," he looked back at Lance briefly before looking to the west again and closing his eyes, "You will go there, and you will obtain these Badges."

"I...I will? But I don't know anything about this stuff and-"

"Calm yourself. This will only be after you conquer the Kanto, Orange, and Johto Leagues. Three years, Lance. But three years before you hit the shores of this new world and three years before you acquire the greatness you crave and that your parents so wanted you to achieve. But you must always believe in what you know is true and right. You must never let me down."

"I guess I could...Try that."

"You must not _try_ anything!" he snapped, "You must do and succeed! I _know_ you are the Master I sought, and I _know_ that you will make your parents proud! You must do this. Head east, Ryujin. East to Pallet Town. Begin your journey there. Then head south to the Orange Archipelago. Then northwest to Johto. And then, only then will you head due-west to Gertan Rin, where you will become what is known today as the Elite Fourth and Divine Fifth!"

Lance stepped back as the tiger's form turned to pure electricity and flew upward. It shot out to the east, then veered to the west for a shot of speed. Behind the boy, a Dragonair cried out. Lance spun and saw an aqua Pokemon with long arms and small wings raising a hand to Draco. He started to call to it, but a white glow overtook his Dragonair and the aqua Pokemon was gone. He looked worriedly at his Pokemon, but suddenly was not afraid.

Draco lifted off the ground and stretched out with his head to the sky. His form doubled, then doubled again, then again, and again. He kept getting longer until wings stretched from his back and legs and arms emerged at his sides. His features changed and he acquired the body of a Dragonite. The glowing faded and the tiny and teased Draco Dragonair became the great and terrible Draco Dragonite. Even his brother and the other Dratini gaped, as Draco was now _huge_! He was nearly twice the size of Drake's Dragonite and almost reached the second story of the Karkota's house! Lance's eyes just about hit the ground as Draco flapped his wings and looked down at him. Charmander peeked out from under the porch to see if the rain had stopped, but shot back under with a shriek.

"Oh...My...Gawd," Ryoko leaned out the window of the second floor, "Where...Did _that_ come from?"

"Um...Ryoko," Lance looked at her groggily, "Th-Th-This is Draco."

All that came thereafter was a thump as Ryoko collapsed backwards to the floor.

*^~^**^~^*

Draco was no longer mocked about his size, but sought out for it. Trainers and Pokemon alike wanted to see this supposed two-story Dragonite. And when the _did_ see him, playing carefully with his master, they nearly toppled over. Draco was gentle with his brothers and sisters, with the other Pokemon in his roster, with his master, with his master's friends and family, and the occasional wild Pokemon. But strangers or people bothering his master were enemies of the lowliest kind. That was one reason why Giovanni, Taylor, and Daemeon made it a point from there on in never to cross Lance Ryujin. Claire, Drake, Rei, Ray, and even Liza were now Lance's rivals and they would stop at nothing to defeat him. Too bad they never did.

Lance traveled through Kanto that year and placed in the top five of the Indigo/Kanto League (Four, to be exact) and missed by one level to challenge the Elite. The next year, he worked his way through the Orange Archipelago and defeated Drake's father to win the Winner's Trophy. From here, he went into secluded training at the Dragon's Den, where he lived for over half a year before setting out to the south. He began in New Bark Town and continued through Johto, defeating Master Ryo Karkota with much praise. From there he went to the Golden Competition* and placed third in the over-all standings. He challenged the Elite then; Shuuken Sedna, Lorelei Nerrivik, Agatha Oak, and Bruno Boulder. He made it through Shuuken, but Lorelei destroyed him; Ice. He looked behind her at one point and there he saw a little girl. Blond with bright blue eyes. After the match, she wandered over to him and stuck out her arm.

"Hi," she stated, "My name's Lurianna Nerrivik. Everyone calls me Luri."

He never made it to the Champion, whose identity was left unstated. After this defeat, he made it to Gertan Rin. Claire was with him for a while and they had a brief relationship, but then he discovered how his old friend Rei had changed. Claire then went back to Blackthorn, but on a training break, Lance appeared at her door and things took a tire-screeching turn. He left her again and returned to Rei. Both women knew of each other and each other's escapades with Lance, but were determined to fight it out until one of them won. Then Lance defeated Ray and Rei at their new Gym in Cutter and broke the relationship with his winning. He then dumped Claire as well and defeated Elder Master Andiron as Taylor sat in the corner growling. Lance's Charmander finally evolved and defeated Andiron's Steelix. Taylor glared, Lance smirked, and walked down Lotus Lane, tossing his Platinum Badge up into the air. While passing number 213, he felt a strange sensation in his backbone. He just kept walking.

He entered the Rainbow League and placed number one in the standings, again facing the Elite, but the order had changed. It was now Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha, and Shuuken. He finally defeated Lorelei with his Charmeleon, Bruno with his Gyarados, Agatha with his Aerodactyl, and Shuuken with his Dragonite. When he fought the Champion, the name was stated as Bazan Kratos, who carried no specific type or species. He had a wide range, and Lance lost with grace. Kratos also revealed himself later on as being the President of the Rainbow League and requested that Lance become the Elite Fourth. Shuuken was not ashamed and left quietly. It was then Lance realized that Lorelei's last name had changed to Sedna, as had Luri's, but even with the "no outside relationships" law in place...This marriage was held strong.

A year later, a crimson haired man and a silver haired woman entered Prisma Hall, having ranked one and two in the standings of the League. William Logos and Karen Black battled well, but each ultimately lost at Lance's knees. Lance was pushed up to Champion, as Kratos was getting "too old for this", and Karen took his place as Elite Fourth. Agatha was dismissed and Will took her place as Elite Third. A few days later, Kratos spotted the Ryujin Twins training with their brother. They were pretty powerful, but never wanted amazing glory. So, in light of this, he offered them positions as the front gatekeepers. They accepted and took their job too seriously sometimes and not seriously enough most times.

Things jumbled about a bit during the next year or so. It went to Will, Bruno, Lorelei, then Karen, then Lorelei took temporary leave to visit Shuuken, which made it Will, Bruno, Koga as a replacement, and Karen. Then, Lorelei returned and Koga went back to his Gym. From there, Luri marched in, having placed second in the League, and defeated her mother. She watched her mother go, but remained strong. Now Kratos changed things again. He moved Karen to First, Luri to Second, Will to third, and Bruno to Fourth. Wow...These guys were busy!

Then a cinnamon haired man approached, using only Pokemon of an alternate color. Jason Peruwa III attacked with ease and defeated Karen easily. He lost, however, to Luri. But his Pokemon were rare and he was strong. So, Karen disappeared and Jason made First. All the while, Lance had not once been challenged. He was getting bored and _requested_ to either be moved down or he was to leave. Bruno _volunteered_ to leave, telling them he'd been Elite long enough and that the boy shouldn't leave simply for wanting a challenge or two. He left and Lance took position as Elite Fourth.

Kratos again became Champion, but it didn't last. A man with flame red eyes and hair stormed in, placing number one in the standings, and defeated Jason, Luri, Will, and even Lance with nothing but pure fire-power. He obliterated Kratos and took his stand as Champion Major Master of Fire. Peter Rubeus ruled for a year or less before he was dismissed by the Elite and Kratos. He was violent; a maniac for fire. He was more than a pyromaniac should have been. He loathed the League and swore, after watching his Magcargo figure crumble from the Elite Icon, that he _would_ return to seek revenge on the Elite 4, Kratos, and whoever the Champion may have become.

It was then decided that they would seat no Champion and it was then that the three Wandering Beasts of Legends showed themselves to all four Elite at one time. They explained of a new Champion who would rise to the challenge of Rubeus and would not fail. They were strong in mind, body, heart, and soul, and there was no way to truly stop them. No one believed, or wanted to. Raikou caught Lance alone one day and told him of a girl somewhere close, but far away, that knew him, yet did not. She would seek him out, and he would seek her, and they would find not only each other, but true love. _Yippee_! Lance thought. _A girl for me_! But little did he know how hard it would be. Not until one day they saw a girl...A girl with eyes of blue and green and hair two tones of violet. She was fast, strong, and a newbie to the training biz. But she was powerful with Pokemon she bred herself. They watched her grow even stronger and watched her get closer to the League and to themselves, as they left the city one day and met her face-to-face. She fell for Lance, created a psychic link with Will, bonded sisterly with Luri, and used Jason as a confidant, but only under aliases did she know them.

What remains of this story is still unclear. Right now that girl, known as Raikou's Angel, has made her way to the League and is now battling her way along. Will she achieve what Raikou, Suicune, and Entei say she will? Is she truly the incarnation of the Angel of Faith, just as Lance is of the Dragon of Legends? Are the other Elite the same way; Reincarnates of spirits resurrected every century? Will Rubeus, the so called Devil of Flame, return to destroy whoever takes his place? Only time will tell...But if you look closely into the trees of Spectral Spirit Woods and nightfall, you may just seen an aqua Pokemon with long arms and small wings flitting about the leaves.

*^~^*End*^~^*

Coming Soon: Jeweled By Day #3: Amethyst Winds

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A/N: Oh...My gawd. This last part was hard! I had to try and write up how the Elite got the way they're supposed to be! @_@ That's about a dozen different sets of Elite! BAH! And, as you can tell, when I started writing TAA, I had not yet reached Claire in Crystal, so she tain't related to Lance...And now I get to start on #3, which looks to be like it'll be fun to do. And, as you can see...This one's slightly longer than "Sapphire Rain", but that's because this one had longer to talk about and more to describe. Anyway...I must go work on the third Lost Episode as well, so...Onward!

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*^~^*Pro_V*^~^*  
-=O~Her Many Pokemon~O=-

* - The Golden Convention is what part of the Johto League is called in the Japanese version. I'm unsure what they call it in the dub, so we'll have to go with this for now.

****

No matter how many times you ask, my answer will never change; I do not own Pokemon.


End file.
